Peg Solitaire
Pegs: 32
Moves: 0
Tap a peg, then an empty hole two away
Tap a peg, then an empty hole two away
A peg jumps horizontally or vertically over exactly one neighbouring peg into an empty hole directly beyond it, and the peg it jumped is removed. Tap the peg you want to move and then the hole you want it to land in. The aim is to leave as few pegs as possible, and one is the perfect finish. On the English board that starts with thirty two pegs and a hole in the centre, a single peg ending in the centre is possible but it takes thirty one moves with no wasted jumps.
Peg solitaire is centuries old, with a portrait from 1697 showing a French noblewoman playing it, and its mathematics is surprisingly deep. On the standard English board, 33 holes in a cross with the centre empty, finishing with a single peg is possible, but a single peg can only ever end up in one of a few specific holes, the centre among them. That is provable with a colouring argument, and it means most attempts that end with one peg somewhere else were doomed from a particular move onward.
The European board adds four holes at the diagonals to make 37. It is not a harder version of the same puzzle; the extra holes change which finishes are possible, and the classic centre to centre solution does not carry over.
On the English board, yes, from the standard start. But the final peg can only land in a few specific holes, so a game that leaves one peg elsewhere was lost earlier than it looked.
The English board has 32 pegs and one empty centre hole. The European board has 36 pegs.
Pegs remaining when no jump is left. Lower is better, and one is perfect.
-FAQ